


Nothing More Owed

by eris223



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clexa Week 2018, Day 7, F/F, Free day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 11:24:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eris223/pseuds/eris223
Summary: After years and years on the ground, Clarke knows it's time.Or my version of the perfect ending to the series as it stands.





	Nothing More Owed

This was as good a way as any to die. 

Clarke looked around her. She was content. Her family was safe. Her friends were safe. 

Clarke had already chosen to die for those she loved once before. Climbing that tower, knowing there wouldn’t be enough time to make it back, it was an easy decision then and one that she found herself making again.

Clarke pulled herself up and leaned back against the cold, hard wall. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. There were so many things she would miss about this world. The rare smiles she shared with her friends, the warm embraces that came so few and far between. She’d miss the way Octavia challenged her, the way Raven’s face lit up as she figured out how to blow something up. She’d miss Maddie, the daughter she never thought she’d have, who had grown into a woman greater than she could ever imagine. She’d miss Bellamy and the way he always made her feel like she wasn’t alone. Hell, she’d even miss her mother’s disapproving glares at every decision she ever made.

Clarke didn’t want to die, but it was okay. The ground had been more challenging than she could have ever dreamed, but she’d lived her life to the fullest. She’d found a way to do more than just survive, and now was her time.

She found her hand wandering to the breast pocket of her coat, the way it often did in times of stress. Her fingers wrapped around the small object, slightly smoother than when she first found it, worn from years and years of gentle touching. Clarke pulled out The Flame and brought it eye level. The infinity symbol stood out brightly against the chip. She flipped The Flame over and around her fingers.

Clarke paused for a moment. She knew what she wanted to do. She knew this was what she was waiting for. Clarke studied the chip again. Would it still work? The Flame had laid dormant, inactivated for years. Would its program still be viable? Only one way to find out.

She whispered, “Ascende superious.” The chip instantly lit up, long tentacles stretched out from the chip, searching for a host. Clarke pulled it back, and The Flame closed itself once more. Okay, good sign. It still worked. But there was no way to tell how far the program had degraded, how it would affect her, if she could see what she was so desperately hoping to see, to hear that voice one more time.

What the hell. She was dying here anyway, no time but the present. “Ascende superious,” she said loudly this time.

As the chip opened, she quickly placed it to the back of her neck. Clarke let out a wince as The Flame tore into her skin. She screamed as she felt the tentacles wrap around her spine and thread into her brain. Fuck. This hurt more than she remembered.

Her eyes fluttered closed. 

Clarke felt a surge of calm wash over her mind and body. She opened her eyes to take in her last sights once more. It was a cold, dark room, nothing really to see. She’d already said her goodbyes. She had already made peace with this world. It was truly time to move on. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes once more.

She let her breathing normalize. Clarke focused on the sound of air filling her lungs, the way it felt when she exhaled. She observed the swell of her chest as she inhaled, the way her shoulders moved ever so slightly with each breath. Clarke heard the way the air rushed into her body and felt the tickle as it left. Clarke felt content, tranquil even. Damn, if she had known meditation could feel this good, she would have tried it years ago. But maybe it was not just the meditation this time. Maybe it was something else.

She felt a familiar comfort. One that she had longed for, ached for, for so many years. One that she never thought she’d ever feel again. She still had her eyes closed, yet she could see plain as day, a gloved hand cover hers. She could feel the heat radiating through the fabric and onto her own. She felt long slender fingers slip beneath her palm and squeeze. She released a heavy sigh at the sudden rush of tranquility that exploded from the touch.

Clarke let her eyes wander up the length of a strong arm, covered in worn black cloth. She traced the familiar curve of a shoulder. Wavy brown hair, braided intricately, fell softly down an arm. 

Clarke’s eyes danced up the sharp curve of a cheek, stained with black kohl. She saw the striking contrast of white and green against the dark warpaint. Clarke absorbed every inch of the face she thought she’d never see again. She could feel tears silently run down her cheeks.

She saw the full lips gently turn upwards in a slight smile and heard the voice she had been so desperate for, “Clarke.”

This was the end, but it didn’t matter. She did her part. Her family was safe; her friends were safe. She found peace. And she found Lexa. 

Clarke had resisted inserting the chip for years after finally finding it in the abandoned bunker. The Flame had sat undisturbed for over 6 years as the world above recovered from Praimfaya. Clarke liked to think that it was fate finding it again. That it was the world telling her that she was not alone. That Lexa’s promise would not be broken. That she would always be with her. 

Clarke had kept The Flame on her every moment since. There had been times when she was at her lowest, when all she wanted in the world was to give in, to insert the chip and feel the comfort of the last true commander’s spirit in her mind. But she always resisted. She owed it to Lexa. An unspoken promise made on her lover’s deathbed. ‘Life is about more than just surviving.’ Clarke knew that if she inserted the chip, she would not be able to resist dwelling on her past and would forget to live in the present. And so she never activated The Flame. Until now. Until she was ready to die. Until she was done living.

After years of longing and resisting, Clarke finally threw her arms around the woman sitting next to her and pulled her close. She buried her face in the crook of Lexa’s neck and dug her fingers into her back. She inhaled the scent of the woman she loved, never forgotten over years on the ground without her. Clarke pulled away just far enough to focus on the face she had dreamed of every night.

“Lexa, I… I…” Clarke faltered. She had known this was how she wanted to die, but in all her preparation, she never thought it would actually happen. That she would actually have the time to insert the chip, to see Lexa again. She never thought about what she would say to her in the moment.

Lexa beamed at her and gently tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Clarke, I knew we’d meet again.”

Clarke smiled back at her. She felt new tears run down her cheek as she realized this was the first time she fully smiled at the woman she loved. This was the first time she didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders. This was the first time she was able to just be. She leaned in and pressed her lips to Lexa’s. 

Clarke grinned into the kiss knowing that today was finally the day they truly owed nothing more to their people.


End file.
